Virus writers given jail sentences

Jail time might not go far enough

The prison sentences handed out in October to two UK virus writers should prove a useful deterrent to other online offenders, and may reduce the number of IT attacks that businesses have to deal with, said experts.

Andrew Harvey and Jordan Bradley were sentenced to six months and three months in prison respectively by Newcastle Crown Court for their part in international hacking group THr34t Krew. The group conspired to create the TK worm that infected thousands of computers around the world.

Damages were estimated to be around £15,000, but the worm could have had much more serious financial consequences, according to experts. The men admitted conspiracy to cause unauthorised modification of computers with intent. Alan Bentley, managing director at patch management firm PatchLink in the UK, welcomed the custodial sentences.

"Businesses have a right to be protected, and I believe that by giving out a prison sentence it will certainly serve as a deterrent to other people," Bentley said. "It highlights the courts and police are taking these types of incidents seriously."
Struan Robertson, a senior associate at law firm Pinsent Masons, said it was good to see

the UK courts applying consistent sentencing in computer crime cases. He pointed out that Southwark Crown Court handed out a two-year sentence to Simon Vallor in 2003 for creating and distributing three mass-mailer worms, which were estimated to have affected thousands of computers across 46 countries. In contrast, in 2001 a man who deliberately sent a virus to a competitor was only sentenced to community service.

"The recent sentencing is consistent with these [earlier] cases in terms of the seriousness of its affects," said Robertson.

But work might need to be done to harmonise international penalties. Another member of THr34t Krew, Raymond Steigerwalt, was given a harsher sentence of 21 months in jail and costs of $12,000 by a US court in May.
The tougher stance by US courts appears to chime with user attitudes in the UK. A poll of 330 business PC users by antivirus firm Sophos found that 86 percent believed the TK Worm writers deserved harsher penalties.